Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

EMI and DG--which also drew on the catalogues of Decca and Philips--have each produced complete-edition boxed sets to coincide with the 150th anniversary of Mahler's birth. One set seems like an inexhaustible treasure trove; the other one is more like a mere assemblage of all of Mahler's music. Despite its boasting some outstanding performances (Karajan's live Ninth and Haitink's 1966 Third are two of them, while Solti's Eighth and Bernstein's Fifth definitely are NOT), I can't imagine recommending the DG set over this edition. It's not only that many of the performances in the EMI set are among the very best of the specific works they represent, but also that the whole set has been so thoughtfully and sensitively put together. This really is a case of the sum being greater than its parts, and more valuable than any of EMI's single-conductor boxed sets in representing both the breadth of the composer's expressiveness and the interpretive possibilities inherent in his scores.